Incoming Message
by voidxgear
Summary: After some convincing, Barry Allen gets talked into going on a blind date. He's not expecting the date to be with a guy, and he's definitely not expecting that guy to be the Green Lantern. Hal Jordan is charming, but is Barry willing to give this a shot?
1. 1: Don't Wait

This had to be one of the worst ideas Barry Allen ever had. Well, technically it wasn't his idea, but he was complicit in this nonsense so it didn't make a difference. This was a horrible idea that would only end in disaster. Period. Seriously, he wasn't this type of guy.

Patty Spivot had recently bragged about some blind dating app. She didn't think it would work out but she was pleasantly surprised when she'd been matched with a fairly decent guy. Barry's relationship with Iris hadn't worked out so he'd been down in the dumps and so hey maybe he should give it a try? What's the worst that can happen?

Barry was immediately against the idea. Why couldn't he just meet someone the old-fashioned way? Why did he have to meet anyone at all? But Patty thought it could be fun and the next thing Barry knew, the two of them were in the middle of the crime lab, setting up his profile.

Sigh.

Patty filled out his entire profile for him, sure that if she gave Barry his phone back before finishing the personality questions, he would back out of it. She was probably right.

"How do you like to spend your friday nights?"

Barry stood nearby, reading a clipboard with some paperwork. "I'm usually working….," he said absent-mindedly.

"I'll just put 'with friends.'"

Barry didn't know what good lying would do. These questions were supposed to help match you up with the right partner, so lying would ruin that, wouldn't it? It didn't matter though because he doubted he'd get any dates and if he did, he'd probably turn them down. This whole thing just seemed so embarrassing.

They spent a good ten minutes that way setting up his profile before Patty finally gave him his phone back. Barry momentarily stared at the icon on his homescreen: a small picture of a blindfold with a heart over it. The app was called Blinder. Cute.

Patty nudged him. "Just give it a try. There's no way you won't match up with someone."

"I still don't know about this…."

"Just go on one date. Just one. If it doesn't work, you can delete the app and I'll back off."

Barry looked at her expectantly. "Just one date?"

"Just one."

"You're putting a lot of faith in this thing…."

Patty laughed, heading to the other side of the room to her desk. "It's not even that. Barry, you gotta break out of your shell once in a while. You practically live in this lab. You have a whole life to live."

But Barry _did_ have a life outside of the crime lab. It was only a few years ago that he'd gotten struck by lightning, an incident which led to him become the Flash. In fact, his life as the Flash was something that had led to him and Iris not being able to work it out. In any event, Barry's life was divided between two points: his life as the Flash, and the crime lab. Both were time-consuming. How in the world was he supposed to fit anything else into this, especially a significant other? People he cared about tended to become targets of his enemies anyway, so it just seemed like a waste of time. It just seemed like the better idea was to….close himself off.

Not to mention, people were complicated. Barry could take any two chemicals in or out of this lab and tell you what happened when they were combined. It was impossible to know any human being that well, no matter how close you were with them.

But just one date. Only one. That way he could say he gave it a fair shot, even though he still felt like it was ridiculous.

"Just one date," he resigned, flopping down at his desk in front of a mountain of more paperwork.

Patty looked up at him from her work and smiled. "Good. Keep me posted. I want all the details."

Barry rolled his eyes. Of course she did.

Barry had no idea what to expect with the app. Maybe he'd get a message in a couple of days, maybe a week, or not at all. That's not what happened. He had a message during his lunch break on the same day.

He was sitting in a break room in the police station, eating a meat and cheese sandwich he'd packed when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Not thinking anything of it, he pulled it out, and was surprised to find that not only had he matched with someone on the app, but the person had messaged him.

" _So, you're blonde, huh? Is it true that blondes have more fun?"_

Since it was a blind dating app, there was no picture or name attached. Only a username: "highball59," and the location: Central City.

The message was a lot more flirty than Barry had been expecting, but then again, this was a dating app. But what the hell should he say back? He debated with himself for a minute, and finally sent a message while inwardly cringing at the username Patty had set up for him.

sciencegeek56: _"Fun is relative, don't you think?"_

highball59: _"I like that answer. Maybe you'd be interested in elaborating over dinner? I know this sweet Mexican place downtown that will change the way you look at tacos for the rest of your life. Does that sound like your definition of fun?"_

Wow, this woman sure was bold. Truthfully, Barry liked confidence in a woman. While there was a part of him that could hardly believe that she'd asked him out on her second message, he couldn't help but also be kind of impressed.

Well, might as well get this "one date" over with, right?

sciencegeek56: _"That does sound like fun."_

Was he really flirting?

highball59: _"Glad to hear it, blondie. Are you free tonight?"_

sciencegeek56: _"Sure am."_

highball59: _"Great. Give me a few and I'll message you the 411."_

Oh, boy. This was really going to happen. He knew nothing about this woman except for the fact that she was extremely confident. Didn't seem like much of the traditional type either since she was setting up the date. It wasn't Barry's typical style since he was used to taking that role himself but at the same time, he was oddly okay with this. It was actually pretty intriguing.

Well, if he was going on just one date, it might as well be with someone who was interesting.

He put his phone down and picked up his sandwich again when Patty walked into the break room. Immediately, she gave Barry a curious look.

"Were you...texting someone maybe?"

If Barry didn't know any better, he'd almost swear that she was the one he'd been talking to on the app, but not only had Patty recently started seeing someone else because of the app, Barry knew she'd just come back from an assignment.

"I, uh….have a date," Barry said shyly, biting into his sandwich.

Patty's face lit up as she sat across from him at a table, opening up her lunch box. "Wow, look at you go. That was fast. When is it?"

"Tonight, apparently."

"I'm impressed. Good job, Barry."

The whole idea of a blind date still seemed a little silly. Dating was hard enough in general without adding a complication like being "blind." And it was still crazy that "highball59" had been bold enough to ask him out so quickly. Didn't people usually message more on apps like these to see if they hit it off first? He wouldn't know though. He'd never been the dating app type. Not to mention that absolutely anything could happen on this "date." The person could be some kind of psychopath or something. Not that he was necessarily afraid, but if he had to do this, it'd be nice if he didn't have to deal with the same types of rouges he fought on an almost regular basis.

His phone buzzed again.

highball59: _"Come to Don Juan's at 7. Corner of Park and Oak. Ask for table 7. Sound good?"_

Wow, this...really was gonna happen.

sciencegeek56: _"Sounds like fun. How will I know you?"_

highball59: _"You'll know me the moment you lay eyes on me, blondie. See you tonight."_

A combination of anxiety and excitement welled up within Barry. There was something about the confident tone in this person that felt genuine, rather than just some weirdo trying to pick up whoever would message back. I mean, she had made actual arrangements that quickly. Either she was very confident or very reckless.

There was only one way Barry was going to find out.

Barry must have reread the messages several times. Don Juan's. 7pm, table seven. He'd actually been to the restaurant before, which made him feel a little more comfortable. In any case, he would have known where it was anyway because he had a mental map of pretty much the entire city because he ran through its streets almost every night. It was a pretty nice place, which meant that it was also a bit pricey. Food was really good though, so he definitely understood why his date seemed to like it so much. Barry was pretty fond of it too. Who knows, maybe they'd actually have a good time?

That is, if this woman wasn't some complete psychopath or a serial killer or thought he was just a boring nerd or…

He kept trying to tell himself to be positive about this, but it was such a crazy situation. A blind date! Him! He didn't know anything about this person except that they seemed pretty brave.

For the remainder of the day, he wrestled with his own thoughts like this. The more he reread the messages, the louder the thoughts were. By the time 7pm rolled around and he arrived at the restaurant, he was well and ready to just get this over with so he didn't have to overthink it anymore.

He stood outside of the restaurant, composing himself. Was his date here already? It was two minutes until 7pm, so it seemed possible. Did he look okay? Well, he was wearing a white dress shirt and a red sweater vest, plus he'd made sure his hair looked neat. So, yeah, he would say he looked all right.

Okay. Let's do this.

He walked in the restaurant, eyes peeled. The hostess was very friendly when he said he was meeting someone at table seven, leading him over with a smile. Almost too friendly? Nah, that was just the overthinking again. When they arrived at the table, she disappeared quickly.

But, well….

There was a _guy_ at the table. Barry first wondered if it was the right table, but there was a placard with the right number, so there was no denying it was. What was going on here? What had Patty put in for his orientation on the app?

The handsome brunet at the table looked at him curiously. He was wearing a leather flight jacket, a white shirt, and jeans. It wasn't a look that most anyone would have been able to pull off in a nice restaurant like this, but this guy made it work. He was good looking and suave, even Barry could recognize that. The casual, relaxed position he was sitting in only served to push that image.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

Barry started to feel like the collar of his shirt might choke him. "I'm sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I was supposed to meet someone at this table…."

The man's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't look angry. "Table seven? 7pm?"

"Yeah, that's right…"

"...Are you 'science geek'? You look like a science geek. And you're blond."

Barry slowly nodded. "And you're 'highball,' aren't you?"

The man laughed, and Barry couldn't tell if he genuinely found this amusing or was just really disappointed. "Yup. Seems to me that this is not what either of us were expecting. Is that fair to say, blondie?"

It really was the same person. He could tell now by the way he spoke. Wow.

"Yeah, that's...a fair statement," Barry said.

The man grinned, still looking as though he found this whole thing amusing. He paused a moment, before gesturing at the chair opposite him on the table. "Tell you what, 'science geek.' We're both here, we might as well enjoy some good food. Have a seat. What do you say?"

Well, why not? Barry had already come this far. It seemed pretty rude to turn away now, even if this was the absolute last thing he could have ever expected. What the hell, right?

Barry offered his hand as he took his seat. "I'm Barry Allen."

The man shook his hand with gusto. "Hal Jordan. Pleased to meet you."

"I apologize for this, my co-worker—"

Hal waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Things happen. You showed up so you're already doing better than half people that use these apps, regardless of gender."

Their waitress came by to take their drink orders. Barry asked for a simple iced tea, while Hal ordered some kind of Mexican beer. He made a point to let Barry know that he wasn't driving tonight and he wasn't _that_ stupid, so don't worry. Barry wasn't going to make it his business to ask, but it was interesting that Hal had volunteered that information.

When the waitress walked off, Hal tapped the table as he went back to staring at Barry thoughtfully, which was starting to make Barry feel like he was under a microscope. Why did he keep looking at him like that? He could see how this whole thing was sorta funny but Hal was almost treating it like some elaborate joke. Why did he keep looking at Barry like he was so fascinated?

"So, Barry Allen, what is it you do?"

"Well, I'm a scientist."

"I would have never guessed."

That earned a chuckle from Barry. "I work in the crime lab."

Hal nodded approvingly, almost like he was scoping him out. Almost like he was treating this like a real date. "Police scientist, huh? I can appreciate that. How long have you lived in Central City?"

"For a few years now," Barry replied. "What about you?"

Before Hal could answer, their waitress returned with their drinks and ready to take their meal orders. Hal casually asked for one of the specials and Barry, without thinking, asked for the same thing. It was as good of a choice as any, right? After taking their orders, the waitress walked off again.

"I'm new in town," Hal finally answered. "From Coast City. I work for Ferris Air and they just opened up a new testing facility here in town so I got sent over. Only been here a few months. It's not home, but I like it."

Barry nodded, taking a sip of his iced tea. "Coast City's pretty far from here. Nice city though."

Hal perked up. "You been?"

Barry had in fact been to Coast City, but only as the Flash. "I've uh...been through it."

"A lot different from this city, isn't it? The people are different too, but that's probably because everyone here seems to love that Flash dude."

It was pretty difficult for Barry to keep from choking on his drink after that comment. Central City didn't love Flash at first, but recently he'd been seeing his own face on billboards and everything. It was really weird. "Coast City has Green Lantern, doesn't it? I remember some articles from a while back."

Hal frowned and shrugged. "That guy hasn't been sighted there in months. They say he goes all over the place. I 'unno. I don't pay attention to that stuff."

Noticing that Hal didn't seem to care for the topic, Barry decided to switch the subject. "So...you said you work for Ferris Air? You're a pilot?"

"I'm a test pilot," Hal said with pride. "And not just any test pilot, I'm the best."

Barry smiled a little. "I guess I'll take your word for that."

"You should always take my word for everything, Bar. If you ever get the chance to fly sometime, don't pass it up. There's nothing like it, being up there high in the sky. Away from all the daily bullshit on the ground. Your only friends up there are the wind and your plane. If you respect them, they'll respect you."

It was clear that Hal had a real passion for the work he did, or at least for flying itself, and it was actually pretty endearing. With most people, Barry would probably respond that he'd rather keep his feet on the ground, which would have been the truth. The ground was his comfort zone, and it wasn't because he was afraid of heights. Still, hearing Hal talk about his passion for being in the sky hit him in an unexpected way. He didn't want to ruin it for him by talking about how he'd rather stay on the ground.

This date wasn't so bad after all. Was it a date still? Did it matter?

"I'll keep that in mind, Hal. Something for the bucket list."

Hal laughed. "Bucket list? Dude, don't wait."

"For what?"

"Anything."

A few minutes later, the waitress came by again, bringing their meals. Neither of them wasted any time in digging in. For Barry, he'd been starving because, well, fast metabolism. Food was also something of a comfort for him in stressful situations at times, but he realized that all of his anxiety over this date had faded sometime during his conversation with Hal.

It was funny, and a bit strange. Barry had plenty of friends of any gender throughout his life, but there hadn't been a man that made him feel at ease so quickly and so effortlessly before. Something about Hal's casual and confident demeanor was a silent signal to Barry that he didn't have to worry about petty anxieties. Hal didn't care about small things about a person, he was more interested in overall character. Barry had only just met him, but Hal made no effort to hide the type of person he was. That was something Barry could appreciate.

The two of them continued to have pleasant conversations for the rest of the date. Conversations with Hal were really beginning to feel effortless, as though the two of them could talk for hours. Even when Barry began to go into some detail about science and his work, Hal was still listening and responsive, even when he didn't understand everything. That in itself was really rare because Barry usually felt like people tuned him out when he started talking about things like chemical compounds. Not only that, but when Hal talked about his work and life, Barry found himself interested. He'd never met anyone like Hal before, and it was more than the fact that Hal was an amazing test pilot. It was hard to describe, but it was something.

It was a shame that the night would have to end.

When the waitress dropped off their bill off, Barry began to pull out his wallet but Hal shook his head and took the bill himself.

"This one's on me. I'm the one who asked."

Barry was taken aback. "Oh. Thanks..."

The waitress walked off to process the transaction after Hal gave her a credit card. After that, Hal reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a pen and a small notepad, flipping it open to an empty page.

"Look, Bar, I know this wasn't what either of us were expecting, but I've had a good time." As he spoke, he scribbled onto the notepad. "And you don't exactly look like you're miserable here, so why don't we hang out again sometime?"

He ripped off the sheet from the notepad and handed it to Barry. It had his name and phone number. Barry took it, gave it a thoughtful glance, and put it in his pocket. He offered Hal a small smile. This whole thing was still a bit...strange, but he wasn't hating it. "Yeah, Hal. Maybe I will."

"No 'maybe.' Call me. Oh, and one more thing."

Barry looked at him curiously.

"Delete that silly app. You don't need it."

A couple of days passed. Barry went to work and went on patrol as normal, but somehow everything seemed different now in a way he couldn't quite explain. The world, his job, everything was suddenly less of a weight and was more...exciting? Barry never really dreaded going to work or patrol. He liked his job and his duties as the Flash were also very important to him. Sometimes it would wear him down a little and he'd just feel tired for a bit, but that was about it. That wasn't the case right now though. He didn't know what changed, but when he got out of bed in the morning he felt a lot more ready to take on the day than he did before.  
Work had kept him late, so he was running a late night patrol run. At first, everything seemed fine. Only a few little petty crimes through the city but nothing major. He kept checking around though. Just to be safe, and he had some time to kill anyway.

His phone went off, so he answered it via earpiece as he ran. "Hello?"

It was Patty. "Barry! You never told me how your date went. You did go, right?"

"Yeah, but uh…" How should he handle this? If he told the truth, it might elicit a bunch of questions he'd rather not answer right now. At the same time, he really didn't want to lie about it. "...Quick question, what did you select for my orientation when you set up my profile?"

"Straight. Why?"

"I got matched with a guy."

Patty laughed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. He was just as surprised as I was."

"Whoa, whoa, okay. Hang on a second. I gotta look into this."

"You know, that's not…"

"Just wait a second."

Barry shook his head, hearing Patty put her phone down for a second. He kept the line open, but stopped at a street corner when he saw disturbance on a rooftop. It was a tall office building, which didn't usually have much activity this time of night. There was a figure on the rooftop that he couldn't quite make out from where he was standing on the street. What was that person doing up there? It wasn't someone trying to jump, was it?

Patty came back. "So get this, apparently there was a glitch in the app recently that disregarded orientation preferences when calculating for matches. It counted everything else except for gender."

"So the stuff you lied about me in that personality quiz?" Barry asked. The glitch thing was interesting though, and definitely explained what happened. He wondered if Hal found out about the glitch as well.

"Hey, I didn't answer everything with a lie. Not my fault you didn't want to answer some of the questions. Besides, I've been working with you long enough that I think I know you pretty well. So, was he cute?"

The person on the rooftop was carrying what looked like a very big gun. Not good. "I have to go. Something's come up."

"Now you're just trying to get out of the conversation. Come on, tell me!"

"Sorry. Talk to you later."

"Bar—"

He cut the line just as the person on the roof started aiming their gun at the streets below. He had to act fast. Good thing he was the fastest man alive. Calculating his speed and the height of the building, he moved back from the building a necessary distance. When he was sure his calculations were just right, he shot himself forward, running up the side of the tall building.

This was a tricky maneuver that was still trying to get just right. He'd been the Flash for a few years, but there was still plenty of tricks and caveats about his abilities that he was still learning. But if there was ever a time for him to get this move right, it was right now.

About three quarters of the way up, he started to feel gravity pull on him but that only made him push harder. Come on, just a little more….

Made it. His boots hit the rooftop on the opposite side the rooftop person was standing. As soon as he landed, he recognized the familiar figure, having already encountered him a few times in the past. Captain Cold. Seeing him surprised Barry, as he was sure he'd been locked up. But that was a question for another day.

Captain Cold turned. "Flash," he snarled, aiming his cold gun right at him.

Oh, no. Barry had been down this road before and he wasn't going down it again. The cold gun fired and Barry used his speed to move out of the way. However, this time, he miscalculated his movements and slipped off the edge of the rooftop.

Damn.

He was falling fast from the top of one of the highest points in Central City, too fast to be able to use his speed to counteract and break his fall. Goddammit, why had he been so careless? Maybe if he just tried to—

He landed... _softly_. What the…? He sat up to find that he was on a large green mattress. It wasn't solid, at least not entirely. He could see right through it, but it was holding him up. Several feet off the ground, too, since he was about halfway down his fall.

Was this...what it looked like? What he thought it was? He'd never seen it in person before, but all the rumors and articles had described something just like this: structures made of light energy.

His eyes followed a green beam of light from the light energy mattress until he saw its source: the Green Lantern, floating midair several feet away. Here. In Central City. As far as Barry knew, Green Lantern had never been in Central City before so this would be their first sighting. And it was to save Barry's life. A little humiliating, maybe, but it was a lot better than being scarlet splatter on pavement.

"Flash, right?" Green Lantern said. "You're welcome, by the way. I don't accept tips, but thanks for the offer."

Okay. That was not the sort of attitude he was expecting in another hero. Also, that voice was...familiar. "I appreciate the landing, but Captain Cold's up there and he's about to do something bad. Mind, uh, giving me a lift back up there?"

"I noticed. I can handle this one. Watch and learn, speedster."

The mattress began lowering toward the ground, where a crowd of people were beginning to gather. Barry stood up on the mattress, a little irritated. "Green Lantern! Let me help you!"

Within seconds, he was on the ground. Green Lantern flew upward towards the roof, fully intending on taking Captain Cold all for himself. Flash wasn't offended that he was taking the victory. Justice was justice either way. What he was concerned about was that GL was in way over his head and most likely didn't know how powerful Captain Cold was.

Crowds began gathering around Barry, and if he stuck around much longer, they would make it really difficult for him to get back up to the roof.

"Sorry, folks. I have work to do," he said before speeding off to the run up the side of the building again. A move that he was barely sure he could pull off the first time and here he was doing it again. It was either that or risk this situation escalating.

Fortunately, he made it to the roof again, even more easily than the first time. However, by the time he got up there, Green Lantern had the situation taken care of.

Captain Cold was apprehended, his hands behind his back in a construct of a pair of handcuffs. Green Lantern was holding onto one of his arms with one hand, and in his other hand was the cold gun. Pleased with his work, the lantern sent Barry a proud smirk.

"What'd I tell ya, Flash? Watch and learn. Catch them by surprise." Yeah, that voice was definitely familiar. Huh.

Barry crossed his arms. "Not bad. Reckless, but not bad."

"I'll take that as a compliment. You see any cops down there so I can bag this idiot?"

"Sure did. Be my guest."

"Don't mind if I do. Hold this thing, will you?" He was holding up the cold gun.

Barry approached them. Captain Cold was giving them both an angry scowl, but was otherwise not moving. Barry kept his eyes on him, just in case, while he took the gun.

"Alright. Hang tight," the Green Lantern said. He formed a bubble construct around himself and Captain Cold, then another bubble construct around Barry. "Going down. Please remain still and keep all hands inside the construct," he said, mocking a robotic voice.

They landed on the ground safely, where a crowd of police officers were waiting for them. Several of them apprehended Captain Cold with real handcuffs after the lantern made all of his constructs vanish. Barry handed over the cold gun to another group of officers, who thanked both him and Green Lantern for bringing Cold to justice before he had the chance to hurt more people. Green Lantern showed his cockiness, telling them it was easy and they were welcome. Barry kept from rolling his eyes as the thanked the officers for taking Cold off the streets again. The officers left, save for a few stragglers who were trying to disperse the crowd of civilians.

Green Lantern turned to Barry, who was finally able to get a good look at his face.

It was difficult to hide his surprised reaction. The lantern's disguise wasn't very good, as he only had a small domino mask and spoke the same way he did normally. He wasn't like Barry, who's Flash disguise covered most of his face and hair. Barry often tried to change the way he spoke as the Flash to further throw anyone off his trail. But apparently, Green Lantern didn't care about those things.

Still, Barry couldn't believe it. The Green Lantern was Hal Jordan.

Hal held up a hand, offering a high-five. "And another one bites the dust! Up top, Flash!"

Barry just stared at him for a moment, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the guy he'd been paired with for a date because of some glitch, the guy who he felt like he could talk to for hours, the guy who even wanted to see him again….was the Green Lantern.

Trying to compose himself, he gave Hal a half-hearted smile and returned his high-five.

Hal laughed. "Awfully slow for a guy everyone says is the fastest man alive." A green glow surrounded him as he began floating off the ground. "Gotta jet. See you around sometime. And watch your step in the future!" In a beam of light, he flew off and was gone.

The civilian crowd surrounded him, clamoring for his attention for autographs and questions but to Barry, they were distant. His eyes were locked to the sky where Hal had disappeared to. Hal Jordan was the Green Lantern. He couldn't believe it.

After their date, Hal had told Barry to call him. Knowing now who Hal really was, it was probably a bad idea.

And yet, Barry really wanted to.


	2. 2: Stay With Me

Hal sat next to Barry on a bench. Where were they? Barry didn't know, but it didn't matter. They were alone and Hal's arm was around his shoulders. The world was quiet. Hal's warm brown eyes gazed at him with soft affection and Barry found he couldn't look away from him. He didn't want to.

"I had a good time tonight," Hal said, his voice soft.

Barry felt himself smiling. "Yeah, I did too."

Hal leaned in. Barry knew what was coming, but he couldn't hide his secret any longer. Not when this was about to happen. If they were really going down this road, then Hal had to know. Barry knew the price for keeping secrets from the people you care about, and he couldn't do that to Hal.

"Wait," he said.

Hal froze, looking at him.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Hal looked frustrated. "Well, what is it, Bar?"

"I...I know you're the Green Lantern."

"...Excuse me?"

"And...I'm the Flash."

Hal's eyebrows furrowed, looking at Barry suspiciously. "The hell? You? No way. I don't buy it."

Quicker than the blink of an eye, Barry moved from Hal's right side to his left on the bench. Hal jolted, clearly confused, before he spun around to realize Barry had switched sides faster than he could see it. Barry wore a nervous, half-hearted smile when Hal looked at him again. He gave the brunet a small wave.

"It's true," Barry said. "I know. Crazy, isn't it? Sometimes I still can't believe it either."

But Hal looked...angry.

Barry's smile fell. Something wasn't right. He looked at him, concerned. "...Hal?"

"You've been the Flash this whole time?"

"Yeah. This whole time. Are you—"

"Yeah, look. This isn't happening."

Ouch. Barry felt that one right through his chest. "What?"

"One costumed weirdo in a relationship is enough of a hassle, and you want to start a relationship with _two?_ " Hal got up from the bench, looking at Barry as he backed away from him slowly.

Barry stood up, moving towards him. "Hal, wait a minute. I'm sorry. Look, I wanted to tell you earlier, but I didn't know you that well yet. Let's talk about this."

Hal shook his head quickly, still backing away. "There's nothing to talk about. You led me on with something that will never work. It's not happening, Barry. None of this is happening."

Barry called out his name, but it didn't matter because Hal vanished before his eyes.

He was alone.

* * *

Barry woke up in a sweat. The room felt hot but his chest felt ice cold. His mind reeled, remembering and processing the dream he'd just had. Him and Hal, and then him alone.

It was just a dream.

He sat up and his face fell into his hands. What was wrong with him? He barely knew Hal. They had one meal together. One. And yet, Hal was on his mind constantly. This wasn't helped at all by the fact that he'd encountered the Green Lantern and realized that Green Lantern and Hal were one and the same. After their date, Hal had told him he should call him so they could hang out again, but should he? It was a question that had been on his mind constantly since the "date" last week. He wanted to, but every time he picked up his phone, something stopped him.

And now, he had this dream.

More rattling than Hal leaving him in the dream was the fact that in the dream they were starting a romantic relationship. Yeah, they'd been on a "date" because of some mishap in a mobile app, but that wasn't what Barry really wanted or was looking for.

Was it? He didn't know anymore. Another thing was that Hal had told him to delete the app because he didn't need it. What did he mean by that? In any event, Barry still had the app, but why? He had no intention of trying to match with anyone else on it. Was it because it was the only way Hal could currently contact him, since Barry hadn't called or texted him yet? Okay, that was ridiculous. It was one date. Nothing romantic about it. Even if he were into guys, Hal probably wasn't his type anyway. He just hadn't gotten around to deleting the app yet.

And yet, the way Hal had looked at him as Barry talked about science and the work he did everyday….

What time was it anyway? He grabbed his phone to check the time. 4:30am. Pretty early, but there was no way he was going back to sleep after that dream. He had a shift this morning anyway, so it wouldn't hurt going in early to get some extra work done.

He got out of bed and headed into the shower. Thankfully, the shower was just as refreshing as he needed it to be. The hot water cascading down on him helped him clear his mind and calm him down. The dream was just a dream. That was it. It wasn't prophetic or symbolic or anything. Just a dream about his own anxieties.

He closed his eyes, remembering the date, remembering how easy it was to talk to Hal. Hal was a man who seemed to have a relatively simple outlook on life, but Barry respected that.

What was that one thing Hal had said? Oh, yeah.

" _Bucket list? Dude, don't wait."_

" _For what?"_

" _Anything."_

Don't wait.

He really needed to call him.

* * *

Since Hal most likely wasn't awake at near 5 in the morning, Barry waited until lunch to call him. Should he have waited until the end of the day? Probably. But "don't wait," right? And he'd already done enough waiting.

No one was in the break room at the station when he entered it, so he pulled out his phone. He'd entered Hal's number into his contacts the night he had gotten his number, so he pulled up his name and called.

Each ring seemed so much longer than the last. Come on, come on, come on. Pick up.

It went to voicemail. Damn. "It's Hal, you know how this works." _Beep._

Should he leave a message? Well, no time to decide now. "Hey, it's Barry. You know, from the restaurant. The 'science geek.' Just...thought I'd say hi. If you'd still like to hang out again, call me back. Bye."

Maybe a little awkward, but not bad. Hal would call him, right? Then again, if he didn't, was Barry really losing anything? He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed though. No sense in thinking about it too much. He grabbed his lunch box and sat down at one of the tables.

Thirty minutes later, his lunch had long since been eaten and he was no longer alone in the break room. A few of his fellow colleagues had gathered in, but no one he was really close to. That was fine with him. His mind had drifted off to a case he'd spent the morning working anyway.

He was just about to get back to work when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered it automatically without checking the caller first.

"It's Barry."

"Good, I caught you! Listen, sorry I missed your call, I was on a flight. Do you use Snapchat? I can send you a snap of this sweet new plane I just tested. Rides smoother than a baby's bottom."

How did Hal always manage to pack so much into so little whenever he spoke? "Oh, uh, don't worry about it. Duty calls, right?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Hal said with a laugh. "Hey, you free tonight? I was gonna hang out at the bar. Wanna come? It's karaoke night if you're feeling brave."

Brave? Barry would rush into just about any kind of worldly disaster and face any villain, but karaoke was a whole other level of brave that he'd never touch in a million years. Funny joke, Hal. Real funny. However, meeting him at a bar didn't sound so bad. It was a lot more casual than the restaurant they'd first met at, so it would take some pressure off. That actually sounded kind of nice. Not to mention, this time they were meeting on their own terms.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Where at?"

Hal gave him the name and location. "You've been in this city longer than me, but I'm pretty sure you won't find a better bar. You ever been there?"

"Can't say I have, but I can find it easily."

"Sweet. I'll be there about 9 or so."

"I'll see you then," Barry said, his smile apparent in his voice. "Oh, wait, before you go…."

"What's up?"

"I don't use Snapchat, but send me a picture of that plane. I'd like to see it."

Hal sounded particularly happy at that comment. "Yeah? You getting an interest in planes? One sweet picture of a sweet ride coming right up. See you at the bar tonight. Bring your liver."

Hal had no idea that Barry couldn't get drunk, but Barry laughed anyway. "Yeah, see you then, Hal."

He hung up, putting his phone away. It was past time for him to get back to work, so he scrambled to put away his lunch box and get back to the lab. But, hey, he'd done it. He'd called Hal, which lead to Hal calling him back. They set up a time and place to meet again and he was looking forward to it. He could take a night off from being Flash and actually enjoy his time, something he didn't do too often. It'd be great.

When he finally got back to the lab, he felt his phone buzz again. It was a message from Hal. Barry opened it to find a selfie of the pilot with a wide grin in front of a sleek looking fighter jet.

It was...adorable. Barry smiled to himself, saving the picture to his phone and setting it as Hal's contact picture.

He couldn't wait to finally see him again.

* * *

Barry wasn't the type to spend a lot of time in bars, but he went every now and then. Occasionally, he missed being able to feel the effects of alcohol, but all things considered, it wasn't a major loss. Whenever he went to bars these days, he usually just kept his drinks to a minimum so he didn't have to try to explain that he could hold his alcohol _really_ well. Tonight he was probably going to do the same thing.

He remembered first hearing about the Green Lantern in national news some months ago. Barry had already been active as the Flash for a couple years when articles started popping up. Not much was known about Green Lantern or what he could do, but there was some talk about magic or something. He'd mostly been sighted in Coast City, but there were a couple of other appearances elsewhere. Thinking back on it now was funny, because Barry could never have anticipated that Green Lantern was a cocky flyboy with a dorky sense of humor.

He wasn't the first hero that Barry had met though. A few months ago, Superman ended up in town because he was trying to track someone down. He didn't find what he was looking for in Central City, but it did give him a chance to meet Flash. They didn't talk much, but Barry respected him a lot and it was nice to meet him. Superman told him to keep up the good work in Central City and took off again. Nice guy.

It was hard to tell how many heroes there were exactly. There were rumors about some bat guy in Gotham City, but Gotham wasn't the most friendly place, so Barry wasn't sure how much he trusted those rumors. In any event, it was still strange that Green Lantern had ended up here of all places. Hal had told Barry that his work brought him here, and while that might be true, he wondered if there was a different reason as well.

And the Green Lantern was a bar guy. Did Superman hang out in bars? Probably not. Hal was unique and seemed intent to do things his own way. Even for the short time Barry had known him so far, that much was clear. For a vigilante or hero type, that wasn't always possible, so he wondered how much Hal grappled with those dynamics in his personal life. Because Barry fought with them a lot and he wasn't quite as selfish.

There was nothing notable about this bar as far as Barry was concerned. It was in the downtown area and a reasonable distance from the new Ferris Air facility that Hal worked at, so maybe that was it. Barry arrived a few minutes after 9, dressed neatly but not as formally as before, and made his way inside.

It was pretty crowded. Someone very drunk was singing some karaoke very badly, but they could hardly be heard over everyone talking amongst themselves. Barry slowly navigated between tables and through the crowds, searching for Hal. He knew he had the right place, but was Hal even here? He eventually saw him at the end of the bar, first spotting his familiar jacket. Barry couldn't hear a word of it, but Hal was having a conversation with the bartender, who looked more than a little disinterested. Hal didn't seem to notice, just carried on with a big grin on his face as he spoke.

Barry moved closer to the bar, tapping Hal's shoulder. "Is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to him.

Hal turned to him immediately and his face lit up a lot more than Barry would have expected. "Hey, you made it! Seat's all yours. Get yourself something to drink."

The bartender, who looked relieved that someone had taken Hal's attention, glanced at Barry. "What can I get for ya?"

"Just soda, thanks," Barry said as he took a seat. The bartender walked off.

Hal grinned at him, taking a sip of whatever kind of alcohol he was drinking. "Not the drinking type?"

"Sometimes," Barry said with a shrug. "Depends on the mood. What about you?"

"Depends on the mood, and I'm always in the mood," Hal said with laughter.

Barry looked at him curiously. Did Hal already have a lot to drink or was he just in a really good mood? The bartender came back with his soda and Barry thanked him politely. Once the bartender walked off again, Barry turned his attention back to Hal.

"That was quite a picture you sent earlier. That plane looked pretty awesome," Barry said. He wasn't just saying that either. Barry didn't know much about planes, but he'd still been impressed by what he saw in the selfie that Hal had sent.

Hal smiled. "Isn't it awesome? Not the most powerful engine but the ride is so smooth you'd hardly know the difference. Test couldn't have gone any better."

Barry almost wanted to ask what happened when the tests went bad, but he was sure the answer to that was pretty obvious. "Must take nerves of steel to do that kind of work."

"No fear."

Barry didn't understand. "Huh?"

"No fear, Bar. Setbacks in life are gonna happen regardless of whether or not you're scared. So you might as well save yourself the trouble and go for it anyway."

Barry smiled a little. "You make a good argument, but I'm content in my lab."

"You ever have a moment in your lab that made you afraid to go back?"

Heh. Hal, you have no idea. Barry forced a shrug and averted Hal's gaze. "There's been...a couple setbacks, I guess…."

"But you still work there, right? You're already doing it, dude. No fear. Beats doing nothing."

Huh. Barry had never thought of it like that before. He could still remember the night he was working late in the lab during a really bad storm. Everyone else had left but Barry was working on a case he really wanted to crack. He was standing by a chemicals cabinet when the lightning came through the window, and the rest was history. But he'd never thought much about his fear to work in the lab again. He remembered feeling that fear, but it was far overshadowed by his sense of duty. Maybe that's what Hal was talking about.

Now he was wondering what Hal's "setback" was, but he wasn't about to ask.

"Yeah...I guess you're right," Barry said.

Hal seemed like the type of guy that most people wouldn't take seriously, but Barry believed he could learn something from almost anyone. Most people had been through something that taught them a lesson Barry hadn't learned yet. He wanted to believe that everyone had some good in them, something that could connect them with others in a unique way. There were people that chose to ignore that side of themselves, but so far, Barry's beliefs had remained the same since he first became the Flash. He was just beginning to get to know Hal, but he could tell that Hal was a person he could learn a lot from, regardless of his carefree, overly confident demeanor.

Hal put away more drinks while they chatted. Their conversations went all over the place as Hal became increasingly drunk, but Barry didn't mind.

"And so I told her, this plane won't fly," Hal was saying, slurring his words a little. "It's a piece of junk. I don't care how many millions of dollars it is. It won't fly. The engine is garbage and cheaply made."

"Did she make you fly it?" Barry asked, sipping his soda, genuinely interested in the story.

"Nope. She wasn't happy about it though, but I think that's because she was already pissed at me for not showing up to a date."

"Date? You dated your boss?"

Hal chuckled. "Yup."

"Why didn't you make it to the date?" Too personal of a question? Hal didn't have to answer if he didn't want to.

"Business," Hal said, eyebrows furrowed.

Hmm. Barry knew that look and that type of excuse because he often went through the same thing himself. That was the "my superhero identity kept me away" excuse. Damn. Poor Hal. Barry figured he'd better keep the personal questions to a minimum, not only out of respect, but he didn't want Hal to drunkenly reveal that he was the Green Lantern. "That's a shame," he said.

Hal threw his hands in the air. "Doesn't matter now. I've m-moved on."

Barry rose an eyebrow, trying to read his expression. "Moved on" could mean so many things. "Well, that's good to hear."

Hal smirked, looking at him, but his smirk wasn't like before. It was sloppy because of how drunk he was. Barry thought about telling him that maybe he should make his current drink his last, but Hal had other plans.

"Barreeeee. You forgot something."

"Did I?"

"It's karaoke night."

Barry internally panicked. He did _not_ want to sing, and he was going to tell Hal as such when Hal got up and headed over to the karaoke stage with no warning instead. Oh. Okay. So this was going to happen, while Hal was drunk off his ass. Okay then.

He had no idea if this was normal for Hal. It could have been, but something about the way Hal acted made Barry feel like he didn't usually get this drunk. If that was the case, Barry wondered what made tonight an exception.

Everything got set up and the music started playing a familiar song from the 80s. Heh. If Barry were a worse person, he'd record this on his phone for blackmail material. He wouldn't do that, but he could be amused nonetheless. He rested his cheek on his palm, watching Hal with fascination.

Hal wasn't a very good singer, but what he lacked in singing ability, he was making up for with dramatic, drunken "dance" moves. To his credit though, he was getting the lyrics right without having to look, which meant he knew this song well. That in itself was pretty funny, actually.

" _So slide over here  
And give me a moment.  
Your moves are so raw.  
I've got to let you know, I've got to let you know.  
You're one of my kind."_

How could a person be so hilarious yet so endearing at the same time? Hal had no shame up there, shaking his hips and singing his heart out, and it probably wasn't just because of the alcohol. Was this part of his "no fear" philosophy too? Didn't matter either way, because Barry could watch this go on for hours.

A couple of people nearby at the bar pointed at Hal and laughed, but Barry paid them no mind. Hal didn't notice it either, but even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared anyway.

" _How do you feel?  
I'm lonely.  
What do you think?  
Can't think at all.  
Whatcha gonna do?  
Gonna live my life."  
_

Hal kept up his dazzling performance throughout the whole song, not missing a single beat or lyric. When the song ended, no one paid any mind but Hal bowed anyway as though he'd just given the performance of a lifetime.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here again next week."

He put the microphone away and started to walk back when he stumbled, falling forward. Barry panicked and rushed over (at normal speed, unfortunately) to check on him.

The blond knelt next to him, offering his hand. "Hey, you alright? That was a nasty fall."

Hal took his hand and allowed Barry to help pull him back to his feet. The moment Hal's hand was within his own, Barry realized just how strong Hal's hands were. He immediately felt embarrassed for having the thought and tried to focus on making sure Hal was okay.

The pilot seemed unfazed though, because the moment he got up to his feet, he slung his arm around Barry's shoulders and was laughing. "Woo! Did you hear me up there, Bar?"

Okay. This was getting out of hand. It was cute, but Hal was _really_ drunk. "Yes, I did. You did great. But I think it's time for you to get home, Hal."

Hal pouted. "But the night's so young! You're not gonna leave me hanging, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm going to help you get home."

"Ohhh, really? I like the way you think. Wait, you don't know where I live."

"Well, you're going to tell me. Everything will be fine. Just stay with me, okay?"

Hal nodded quickly. "Aye aye, captain."

Keeping Hal close, Barry made his way back to the bar. He pulled out his wallet and paid for his and Hal's tabs. Hal didn't seem to notice, he just kept leaning on Barry, waiting for the blond to lead him wherever they were going. After a moment, Barry grabbed Hal by the sleeve of his jacket and led him out the door.

"Okay, Hal. What's your address?"

Hal, thankfully, gave him his address without any fuss or hesitation.

Barry nodded, looking around for a taxi. He really wished he could do this the easy way carry him home with speed, but they hadn't crossed that bridge yet. "Okay, well, I'm going to take you home. Is that okay?"

"Okie dokie."

Barry frowned. Would Hal remember this at all? Maybe when they got to Hal's place, he should leave a note for him in the morning just in case, so he wouldn't be confused.

Thankfully, since they were downtown, taxis were pretty easy to come by. Barry hailed one over and, when it stopped, opened the door for Hal to get in first. Hal climbed in without an issue and Barry got into the car after. Barry gave the driver the address, and they were off.

Hal spent the drive mumbling about his stupid bosses at work, and about some really big guy who he seemed frustrated with. Apparently the big guy didn't think he had enough training or whatever, and called him a "poozer" (what in the world was a 'poozer'?). Barry was pretty confused by this rambling because it didn't sound anything like how he had described Ferris Air, where he was supposedly the best pilot. Maybe it was a question he could ask him another day, but in the end Barry decided he should probably let it go.

They pulled up to an apartment complex about 10 minutes later. Barry got out first with the intention of helping Hal get out, but Hal climbed out of the car just fine on his own. Seeing he was okay, Barry pulled out his wallet again and paid the fee to the driver before sending him off.

"Okay, Hal. Almost there. Apartment 122, right?"

Hal was already leading the way. While he wasn't really walking straight, he wasn't stumbling so Barry figured he couldn't complain. The pilot lazily motioned for him to follow. "Yeah, yeah. Ground level. No stairs, thank god."

They got to his apartment and Hal dug in his jacket for some keys, which took him a couple of minutes because he couldn't remember where he put them. While he was searching, it occured to Barry that he knew far more about Hal than Hal knew about him. Far more. Not only did he know he was Green Lantern, but he knew all about his work with Ferris Air, and now he knew where he lived. It seemed kind of unfair, but it's just the way it had worked out, and it still seemed too risky to even it out by telling him he was the Flash. He still barely knew him, even if he was growing quite fond of him.

Hal finally found his keys and went inside, flipping on a light. Barry remained at the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of the living room before him. It was a mess. Papers and articles of clothing were scattered everywhere. Not his place to judge though. It was Hal's life and his apartment, not Barry's.

Hal plopped down on a recliner as Barry finally made his way inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey, Hal, you got a piece of paper somewhere I can borrow?"

Hal pointed to the coffee table in front of him, where he had a notepad and pen laying. If Barry was right, it was the same notepad that he'd used to give Barry his number last week at the restaurant. Barry sat down on an open chair and scribbled a note for Hal to find in the morning.

" _Hal,_

 _Helped you home last night from the bar. How's your hangover? Make sure you drink plenty of water._

 _Had fun and hope you did too. Give me a call sometime._

— _Barry._

 _P.s. — The karaoke was a blast."_

He sat the notepad down on the table with the note open, and thankfully Hal didn't seem interested in reading it yet.

"How are you feeling?" Barry asked.

Hal pouted. "I'm gonna feel like shit in the morning."

Barry offered a sympathetic frown, but got up and gave Hal a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You'll be okay. Take some aspirin and drink some water. I better get going."

He was just about to reach the door when Hal's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Bar...Barry. Just stay with me, okay?"

It was hard to tell if Hal was speaking genuinely, or if he was simply echoing Barry's words from earlier. But there was something so...sad in his tone that tugged at Barry's heart strings. Hal just sounded so lonely, and Barry couldn't turn away.

"Just stay with me," Hal said again.

Barry turned back, reclaiming his seat. He didn't understand this, but right now he didn't need to. If Hal needed him, he wanted to be here. That was all that mattered.

"Okay, Hal. I'll stay."


	3. 3: The Whole City Loves You

Barry stayed with Hal until the pilot fell asleep. The couch wasn't the best place to sleep, but Barry didn't want to disturb him by waking him up to move him. Instead, he'd laid his jacket over him as a makeshift blanket and quietly stepped out.

When he returned home, he had trouble falling asleep. So much about the way Hal had acted really threw him for a loop. Sure, the alcohol was part of it, but how much exactly? The way Hal all but begged him to stay had rocked him in particular. Hal didn't strike him as the needy type. Where had that come from? Was it just the alcohol or was it something else?

Barry wasn't naive, he was well aware of the effects of alcohol on a person. He was a forensic scientist for crying out loud. And yet...a part of him wanted some of that to be the real Hal.

The more he thought about Hal, the stronger this pressing weight in his chest got. It was a tension that was just sitting there and he couldn't do anything about it. And he doubted it was going away anytime soon.

Eventually, he managed to fall asleep. It was a good thing he didn't have to work the next day so he could sleep in.

He didn't wake up until close to noon, which was frustrating and took the "sleeping in" thing a bit too far. It wasn't easy maintaining a regular sleep schedule because his day job and being the Flash, but he tried his best. Still a sleepy mess in bed with messy hair and all, he grabbed his phone from the night stand and checked it as part of his morning ritual.

He had text messages from Hal. They'd been sent a few hours ago.

" _Hey. I'm sorry for last night. Really." 8:54am_

" _I was a complete ass. I didn't mean to get that drunk." 9:00am_

" _Saw your note. You're too damn nice." 9:01am_

" _Don't think that's a regular thing for me. It's not." 9:10am_

" _Anyway. Wanted to apologize. Talk soon." 9:15am_

Barry gave his phone a concerned look. Sure, sober Hal was much more fun to be around, but he hadn't been angry with him or anything. He was more concerned with making sure Hal got home safely. The night was still a success as far as he was concerned because there were still plenty of fond memories for him to keep.

He typed back a message. _"Don't worry about it. Take care of yourself. Talk to you soon."_

He waited for a few minutes, as if he were expecting Hal to reply back immediately. No reply came. Deciding he'd been in bed long enough, he groaned and made his way up. Might as well get the day started.

Since he didn't get the chance to patrol the city the night before, Barry figured he'd do some daytime patrolling. It wasn't always possible with his schedule, but tried to do it whenever he could. The people of the city seemed to love seeing him during the day, too. Occasionally Barry would stop and chat with someone he'd helped or talk to a reporter, but for the most part he was focused on patrolling.

After a shower and a very hefty breakfast, Barry changed into his uniform and headed out.

He didn't quite go at top speeds, mostly because he wanted to examine the busy city carefully as he passed through its streets. Central City was always bustling this time of day. It wasn't quite as packed as, say, Metropolis, but it was busy and pretty large nonetheless.

He raced around town for a while and everything seemed fine until he caught sight of a figure on a roof. It immediately gave him a flashback to the first night he'd meet the Green Lantern. He stopped in his tracks and looked up to get a look at who it was.

It was Hal. Well, in his GL uniform. He was sitting on the roof of a bank with his legs hanging off the edge. What was he doing up there? Looking for something? Just chilling? Barry debated approaching him, but Hal spotted him first and waved. Barry waved back, and Hal motioned for him to join him on the roof. Well, why not?

Barry carefully made his way up to the roof of the building, which thankfully wasn't nearly as high as the skyscraper from before. Hal patted the spot on the ledge next to him for Barry to take a seat. As much as Barry wanted to, he was still apprehensive when it came to Hal being the Green Lantern, so he stood next to him.

"What brings you here this time?" Barry said, vibrating his vocal chords a little to disguise his voice.

"Just admiring your city. You're not offended are you?"

"Offended?"

"You know, your city and all that."

Barry shook his head. "Not at all, GL. Are you planning to stick around?"

Hal made a construct of a small plane, similar to the one he'd sent Barry a picture of before, and flew it around a little. "Dunno. I'm assigned to a really big sector. This city is just a fraction of the area I'm supposed to look after."

"Assigned?"

"It's what a Green Lantern does. Think of us like space cops with our own precincts. There's thousands of us, protecting sectors all over the galaxy. This sector is mine."

Wow. This Green Lantern thing was a lot more complex than Barry could have imagined. How in the world did Hal end up as a GL? "So you protect Earth, and also other planets?"

"You betcha. Thousands of them. We have a headquarters in the center of the universe. Every so often I have to go back there for…" He used air quotes and sounded annoyed as he finished his sentence: "...'additional training'. See, the constructs work from my concentration and imagination. That's part of the training."

Training. Like...the kind of training that Hal had been mumbling about in the taxi the other night? Was that what all that was about?

"You're trusting me with some sensitive information," Barry said.

Hal's plane construct disappeared as he directed his attention to the city below. "You're a good guy, Flash. The whole city loves you. I'll take my chances. Central City is your territory and you haven't tried to kick me out yet. I figured I'd return the favor by telling you a little bit about me. I mean, I know you had to be curious. Who wouldn't want to get to know me? I'd be curious about me."

Barry couldn't help but notice that while Hal was trying to sound like his usual overly confident self, it didn't sound quite right. There was a heaviness in his voice and his demeanor. Was it because of Barry? Was it because of what happened at the bar and then Barry taking him home? Was it something else?

God, he wanted to tell him. He wanted to turn to him and say, _"There's something I have to tell you. I'm the Flash, and I know you're Green Lantern. I know it makes things weird, but I'm okay with it if you are."_

But then he remembered his dream from before. The dream only reminded him that he hadn't known Hal very long. Barry wanted to trust him. He wanted to dive into this...whatever it was that they had, without any secrets. But was that safe, for either of them? Would Hal even still want to be around him, knowing he was the Flash?

He wanted to tell himself that he was protecting Hal, because anyone who got too close to Barry usually ended up getting hurt. In a way, it was true. When he and Iris were dating, she'd gotten hurt because of him. Then there was the whole matter with his mom and Eobard Thawne. But the truth was, Barry was just afraid and selfish. He was afraid of losing Hal, and he wanted to keep this friendship thing going. What if the revelation of their secret identities ruined it?

But that wasn't fair to Hal, was it? And what were those things Hal had said again? Don't wait, and no fear.

"GL, there's something I wanna tell you."

Before Barry could continue, the two of them heard an alarm sounding below them, coming from the bank. Shit. Maybe this was a sign. No matter right now. He and Hal exchanged glances, knowing what they had to do.

"I'll get in there and scope the situation," Barry said. "Move in when I give the signal."

Hal was already standing up, giving Barry a nod. "You got it. Wait a minute, what signal?"

"You'll know. Wait here. Keep a low profile for now."

"Okay, buddy. Get down there."

Barry nodded, and zipped away.

It could be nothing. Someone might have accidentally tripped an alarm. It wouldn't be the first false alarm he'd answered before. Maybe it would be nothing, and he could go back to telling Hal the truth once and for all.

It wasn't nothing. A gang of six men in ski masks were holding up the bank and taking hostages. Barry managed to move so fast that he snuck in, buzzing around inside to take a look at the situation. The speed he was moving at allowed him to remain invisible to the naked eye, but the gang did look pretty confused and spooked at the sudden gust of wind from within the building.

Barry might be able to handle this on his own, but with the number of men, he was afraid he'd miss a gun going off that would hurt someone. Better to be safe than sorry and get Hal's help. As far as he could tell, no one had spotted Hal on the roof, so he didn't want to tip anyone off that he was up there. Which was why he was going to send a signal.

Barry sped out of the bank building. Since he'd been running, he'd built up plenty of static electricity. He sent that static electricity straight into a street light in front of the bank, hoping it would be enough for Hal to notice while still being subtle enough. The street light flickered wildly, which had to look strange for anyone noticing, since it was during the day and the sun was shining. Barry hadn't realized how much electricity he'd sent into the lamp, however, and after a few seconds the bulb at the top shattered. Whoops. Hal would definitely notice that.

Barry sped back into the bank, once again hearing the confused cries from hostages and robbers alike as the wind blew. None of them knew what was going on though, and Barry hid at at the back of the main room, waiting for Hal to make his move.

A large green translucent fist broke through the glass double door entrance, shattering it. As the glass fell, Hal appeared from above, making his way in. Barry's first reaction was that Hal should have been more subtle, especially when the hostages started screaming.

However, when all the guns turned to fire in Hal's direction, Barry realized that Hal had moved this way on purpose. When the bullets started flying, Hal brought up a massive, thick shield construct to protect himself. It also served to completely confuse the robbers as an added bonus.

Hal held out his arms as though he were entering for some dramatic performance. "Aw, looks like you missed. Tell you what. I'll let you try again. I'm feeling generous today."

Seeing that Hal was buying him time, Barry decided to take advantage and get the people out of there. There was a back door that he'd seen when he'd first come in, so he could carry everyone out that way.

He counted four tellers, five other staff members, and ten customers, including a toddler. Yeah, he could do this quickly.

He started with the toddler by picking him up and carrying him out the back door. Next was the toddler's mother. From there he worked his way through the customers and staff, carrying them and speeding them out the back door. All of it happened in seconds while Hal continued to taunt and deflect the robbers' bullets.

This would have been much more difficult if Barry were alone.

Once all the civilians were outside, Barry went back in. He stopped behind the crowd of robbers and gave Hal a thumbs up. Hal grinned, returning the gesture.

"Guess what, losers," Hal boasted, turning his attention back to the robbers. "You're finished."

He motioned for them to turn around. The robbers all exchanged glances before finally looking back and around the bank. To their dismay, the civilians were gone and Flash was in their place.

Barry stood there with his arms crossed, but gave them a small wave. "Hi. You're all under arrest. I suspect the police will be here momentarily."

The gang resigned, dropping their guns and raising their hands.

"Now that's more like it," Hal said.

The officers didn't come as quickly as Barry would have hoped, but they were there soon enough nonetheless. Hal waited with Barry, keeping an eye on the robbers as Barry checked on the civilians. Thankfully, no one was hurt, though emergency services checked on them when they arrived just to be sure.

As the police were rounding up the gang, a few officers asked Barry a few questions about what happened. Barry gladly answered the questions, though it took longer than he wanted because, well, he wanted to get back to talking to Hal and pick up their conversation where it left off.

He finally wrapped up his conversation with the officers and searched around for Hal. The last he'd seen him, he was right by the entrance. Now, as Barry sped around looking for him, he was nowhere to be found. He'd left.

Damn. Guess that conversation wasn't happening now.

A little disheartened, he decided to do what he did best and continue his patrol runs.

Maybe he wasn't supposed to have that conversation with Hal at all.

* * *

Days passed. As much as Barry wanted to talk to Hal sooner, he ended up getting tied up. His work in the lab got particularly intensive, causing him to work extra hours for a few days in a row until he finally reached a breakthrough on a particular case, working alongside Patty. Working with her hadn't been easy, because she kept asking about that one date.

"What was he like?"

"He was nice, I guess."

"Are you going to see him again?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"It just didn't work."

Okay, so those things weren't true. But he was mostly annoyed that she was being so invasive while they had such important work to do. He didn't want to talk about Hal right now when the situation with Hal was so screwed up that he wasn't even sure how to define it himself. And he hadn't actually spoken with Hal, as Hal, since the night at the bar.

He hadn't intended to leave Hal hanging for so long. Hopefully Hal didn't think he was upset at him for what happened, because he hadn't been and still wasn't.

When Barry and Patty reached a breakthrough that led to a key arrest, the station decided to hold a raffle for free baseball tickets. Barry didn't expect to win, nor did he really care if he did. He'd done his part and helped bring someone to justice and that was the important part for him.

Well, he won. Two free tickets for a game in Central City this coming Saturday afternoon.

"Congrats, Barry! Who are you taking?" Patty said as they worked on closing the lab down for the day.

Barry already knew, but said, "Don't know. A friend probably."

As soon as he left the station— and was away from Patty— he called Hal. This would be the perfect thing for them to do. It seemed like something Hal would like, too. And they could see each other again….

Thankfully, Hal picked up. "Hey, Bar. What's shakin?"

Barry smiled at his light tone. "Hey, Hal, so you won't believe this. Work held a raffle for a pair of baseball tickets and they picked my name. It's this Saturday here in the city at Diamonds stadium. Wanna come with?"

"No kidding? Aren't you a lucky duck. Hell yeah I'll come with."

"Great! I'll text you the details later. How've you been?"

"Same old grind. Listen, buddy, love to talk but I gotta work. See you Saturday?"

"Yeah, you bet. See you then."

Barry ended the call and, for a moment, just stared at Hal's contact screen on his phone. Even though Hal couldn't talk long, it was still nice to hear his voice. It was gonna be tough to wait until the game to see him again.

* * *

The days dragged on until Saturday finally came but when it finally rolled around, Barry was elated. Baseball itself was fine and all, Barry liked it just fine, but the real highlight was being able to spend time with Hal.

It was a bit silly just how much he was looking forward to seeing him. He didn't feel quite the same way about any of his other friends. There was just something about being around Hal that he really liked. Even when they were just talking, Barry would feel his mood improve instantly. That was all it took. Hal was funny, charming, interesting….

And the Green Lantern, which added a whole complicated facet to this situation. Whenever Barry's thoughts drifted to Hal, it inevitably led to remembering that he was Green Lantern, and how that fact might drive them apart. Or, the fact that Barry was the Flash, which also might drive them apart. Just like with Iris.

The crazy part though was that they seemed to get along just as well as Flash and Green Lantern as they did as their normal, everyday selves. The way they'd worked together to save those hostages at the bank? Easy, effortless. And that was without Hal knowing the truth. What would change if he knew?

He'd tried to tell Hal before, but the bank incident had kept him from doing so. The baseball game wasn't a good place for the conversation either since it was so public. Maybe he'd pull him aside after the game? He wasn't sure yet but for now...maybe he could just allow himself to enjoy the game and the time spent with Hal.

Through text messages, the pair arranged to meet at a location near the stadium, since Barry had the tickets, and then headed there together. Hal seemed to be in good spirits, which was really nice to see. Maybe he'd gotten over whatever was bothering him.

The seats weren't the best, but they were decent. They were next to an aisle, surrounded by tons of other fans. Apparently this was some really important game against the team from Star City. Barry didn't keep up with sports enough to be really invested in it, but he didn't mind the crowd that much and Hal didn't seem to pay any mind either.

The first couple of innings weren't too exciting. The only home run that had been scored so far had come from Star City, so the crowd was clamoring for their home team to catch up quickly. Despite not being major fans themselves, Hal and Barry invested themselves in the game enough and were having a good time.

Hal's lap was full of hot dogs and nachos while they watched the game. Barry passed on the snacks, but had purchased a couple of drinks for them both, since Hal had forgotten to get anything to wash his snacks down.

It was a lot of fun watching Hal cheer on the Central City team, especially since he'd only been living in the area for a few months.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Bar. If Coast City were here instead of Star City, I wouldn't be rooting for the home team."

Barry chuckled. "Fair enough. If they ever play here, maybe we should go to that game, too."

"Be careful what you wish for, Bar. Coast City would demolish your precious Diamonds."

"Don't bet on it," Barry said with a grin.

"Oh? What if I did? Twenty bucks, what do you say?"

Barry laughed and shook his head. "Enticing offer, but I'm gonna have to pass."

"Suit yourself, but I think we both know who the real winner is here," Hal said teasingly. He shoved more nachos in his mouth, but as soon as he did that, the Central City player that was up to bat hit the ball really, really far.

"Oh, shit," Hal said with his mouth full of nachos. The crowd around them got up and started cheering and they both followed suit, cheering with them. Unfortunately, Hal had gotten so excited in the moment that his nachos and hot dogs spilled all over his pants and on the floor beneath them. He had yet to notice.

They watched as the player ran around the bases, following another player who'd already been on second base. Both of them ran to home plate before the opposing team could stop them in their tracks. Barry and Hal cheered louder, turning to each other and exchanging a high-five.

Barry's big smile faded instantly when he saw the mess. "Hal, your pants…"

Hal looked down, realizing what had happened. "Aww, crap. What a waste of good food."

"I grabbed some napkins earlier…."

Hal frowned. "I'll head to the bathroom and clean up."

Barry gave him a sympathetic glance. "Yeah, sure. You okay? All of those things will come out in a wash, if it's the pants you're worried about. They only make the chilli on the hot dogs with—"

"Not worried about it, Bar. Let me know if I miss anything when I get back, yeah?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Hal scrambled off down the aisle. In the meantime, Barry took some of the napkins he'd grabbed earlier and tried to clean up some of the mess from the ground so nobody would end up tripping over it. Messes like these likely happened here all the time, but Barry hated leaving one nonetheless.

After he took care of that, he sat back down and continued watching the game. Not much was happening now. Star City was trying to regain their lead, which Central City didn't seem too keen on allowing to happen.

Hal was taking a while. Barry was puzzled. There was no way that Hal was trying to clean every single spot off his pants. Barry had seen his apartment and knew that he wasn't that tidy. Maybe he got sick or something? He had been eating a lot of really bad food.

Some people in the crowd started looking up. Barry didn't notice at first, paying more attention to the game. Probably a bird or something. But then it was more and more people, all looking in the same direction in the sky.

Then it was the players, too.

Barry looked up and finally saw it. There was a dot in the sky that was getting bigger and bigger, as the object drew closer and closer. Barry felt a rush of fear and panic run through him.

It was a meteor. It was falling fast, and it looked huge.

There was no possible way to evacuate the stadium in time, not even with help from the Flash. Some people were trying to run, but most people were just staring at the meteor in awe and shock.

What could he do? Barry was powerful, but his powers were limited. He could really use Hal's help, but Hal was nowhere to be found and he didn't have time to look for him before the meteor might strike. It would be an awful way for him to reveal the truth to Hal, but he would if he had the opportunity. No such luck though.

Please be okay, Hal, he thought. Please be somewhere safe from this….

He understood that everyone was staring because they were shocked, but they were in danger. Barry couldn't put on his Flash costume because that was time he'd lose, and he needed every second or nanosecond he could get. So, as Barry, he began running around, trying to get the attention of as many people as he could.

"Everyone get down on the ground! Cover your heads! Listen to me, get down! Cover your heads and try to protect yourselves with your seats!"

It wouldn't save them all, but it might save some. That was all he could do.

As he ran around shouting his advice, a tall bearded man glared at him from the bottom of the seating section near the fence. "Who do you think you are?"

Barry stopped. "I work for the police department, please just listen to me and get do—"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

The man shoved Barry before he could react, sending him falling straight over the fence and onto the playing field. The crowd gasped as Barry hit the hard dirt. Shit. He should have been able to keep that from happening, but he couldn't use his speed right now either….

The meteor was fast coming and people were beginning to scream. Barry got to his feet, looking for somewhere he could run off to, but there was no time. He could see now that the meteor was about the size of the stadium itself, and there was nowhere to go. By the time the meteor would hit, it wouldn't matter where he— or anyone else— was.

This was it. It was over. Maybe, hopefully, Hal was somewhere safe and would survive. Please be okay, Hal….

Then, he saw him.

At some point, Hal had donned his GL uniform and he was now in the sky. The crowd gasped when they saw him, Barry among them. The players were all standing in the middle of the field, including those that had been in the dugout, frozen to watch the show as well.

Hal wasted no time and formed a giant baseball catcher's mit construct that was the size of the stadium and bigger than the meteor, hovering several feet above. Barry remembered Hal telling him that his constructs were held together by his concentration so now, more than ever, Hal really needed good concentration. If he screwed this up, people would die, possibly Barry included.

But this was _Hal Jordan._ Barry had faith in him.

The meteor hit the construct. Both Hal and the construct recoiled a bit. Hal was floating high in the sky, but Barry could tell that he was struggling to hold the construct together from the massive impact from the meteor.

But the meteor stayed in the construct. They were safe.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Barry just looked up and smiled, his heart pounding for so many reasons.

Hal formed a megaphone construct so he could address everyone in the stadium: "Everybody okay?"

The crowd cheered in response.

"I could get used to this attention." Some of the crowd laughed in response. Hal continued, "I'm gonna send this bad boy back to space, and you fine folks can get back to your game. Don't forget to tell everyone that Green Lantern was here."

The microphone construct disappeared and Hal refocused his attention on the meteor. Barry watched as the catcher's mit construct suddenly shot upward through the atmosphere, into space, taking the meteor with it.

Barry couldn't stop smiling. That was just...incredible. There were so many thousands of lives in this stadium, and Hal had just saved them all.

The crowd continued to cheer as Hal looked back down after the meteor was gone. His eyes scanned the crowd until they stopped at Barry, who was still in the playing field thanks to his fall. No one had said anything to him yet because of the distractions, but he needed to find a way back to his seat.

But Hal was looking at him and floating down towards him, and the anticipation and curiosity froze Barry in his tracks. What was Hal doing?

Barry had the attention of everyone in the stadium as Hal landed before him. He could hardly breathe, and he didn't know why, but somehow he couldn't help but think about how attractive Hal looked right now in his uniform. Maybe it was just all the adrenaline in his system from the situation.

"You don't look like a player. How'd you end up down here?" Hal asked him. "Shouldn't you be up there?" He motioned vaguely to the crowd.

Barry stammered. "I, uh, was trying to help and I fell." Sounded pretty stupid when he said it out loud.

"Are you alright...citizen?"

Barry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to find a way back to my seat."

"Where were you sitting?"

Barry pointed to his seat and gave him the number. Hal must have thought he was being so slick about this, but now wasn't the time to tell him the truth. Now when thousands of eyes were on them both.

Hal moved to him, throwing Barry's arm around his shoulders. "Hang on," he said quietly. He moved them off the ground, slowly floating upward and over towards Barry's seat.

For a moment, there they were, floating over a whole crowd of thousands of people while hanging onto each other. The moment was one Barry would never forget. He held onto Hal as Hal had an arm around him, and he was sure that Hal could feel his heart pounding. The crowd looked at them in amazement, but even though they weren't that far away, they still seemed so distant. All Barry could focus on was Hal, and not for one second was he afraid that Hal would drop him.

Hal gently placed him on the aisle next to his seat.

Barry looked at him and smiled. "Thanks. You saved thousands of lives here today."

"All in a day's work," Hal said, giving Barry a salute.

Before Barry or anyone else in the crowd could say anything else, Hal took off towards the skies until he was out of sight.

Barry took his seat again, still having the attention of everyone around him who could hardly believe that he'd been lucky enough to get that close to the actual Green Lantern. But Barry chose not to answer any of their weird questions.

Minutes later, the game picked up where it left off and Hal wandered back as his regular self, reclaiming his seat. His pants were still almost as messy as they were when he'd originally left.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked.

Barry smiled. "You'd hardly believe me if I told you."

A random woman sitting behind them interjected. "The Green Lantern saved us from a meteor! And he helped your friend here back to his seat after he fell on the field! It was amazing!"

Hal looked at Barry, raising an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? Man, why do I always miss the good stuff?"

Man, Barry _really_ needed to tell him the truth.

Thankfully, the rest of the game was uneventful. The Central City team won.


	4. 4: Your Hands are Shaking

When Barry offered to take Hal to the baseball game, he was just expecting them to have a nice time in a nice place. Maybe have some snacks and talk a little about the game and what was going on in their daily lives.

He got so much more than he bargained for.

Barry had no idea how an asteroid the size of a baseball stadium had been on a clear path to Central City without any warnings issued whatsoever, but he couldn't have been more grateful that Hal was there. If he wasn't, so many lives would have been lost, most likely including Barry himself. That was the important part. He'd figure out the political stuff later.

The game ended in a win from Central City, but everyone was just glad to be alive. Barry noticed everyone being really friendly with each other, even among people they didn't know. Well, not everyone, but it was enough people to notice. It was nice to see, actually.

Barry and Hal left the stadium together, where they saw several crews from the local media reporting on the incident. Ah. Probably should have anticipated that. No matter. They could go around them.

One reporter spotted Barry and rushed over to him, cameraman in tow. "Excuse me! Excuse me. We've seen footage of you on the internet being carried by Green Lantern. Can you tell us about the experience? Anything you can share about the hero?"

Someone had probably filmed what happened on their phone and uploaded it to the internet. Also something he should have anticipated. Well, that was just great. He'd never hear the end of this at the police station the next time he reported to work.

Barry waved his hands, trying to avoid the camera. "Sorry, I really can't."

Suddenly, Hal spoke up loudly, pointing behind the reporter. "Whoa, is that the Flash?!"

The reporter and cameraman zipped around, eager to get footage of hero. "What? Flash is here?!"

While they were distracted, Hal grabbed Barry's hand and led him back into a massive crowd of people. They walked quickly, trying to dodge any other reporter that might recognize Barry. Barry followed his lead, unable to help but notice that Hal didn't let go of his hand until they were safe in an alley alone and far from the crowds.

Feeling his hand in his made his heart pound all over again. He'd noticed before that Hal's hands were strong, a fact he was noticing again now. His hands were also rough, but very warm. They fit with Barry's like a glove. He loved the way it felt.

When they reached the alley and were safe, Hal finally let him go as they stopped walking.

"Thanks…," Barry said, scratching the back of his head. "I try to keep a relatively low profile, working for the station and everything."

"Don't worry about it," Hal said. "Are you alright?"

Barry nodded. "Yeah, Hal, I'm not _that_ out of shape."

"No, I don't mean that. That one lady said you fell on the field. What happened? We were nowhere near the field."

Oh. Barry sighed, averting his gaze. "The meteor was coming fast, so I was trying to tell people to get down and hide under their seats. I know it wouldn't have saved everyone, but I figured it might save a few. One guy got mad and pushed me over the fence onto the field. He was probably just scared."

Hal frowned, crossing his arms. "What were _you_ going to do while everyone else got down?"

Barry shrugged. He really didn't want to answer these questions, especially with Hal being GL. "Hope for the best. Look, Hal, I'm a cop. It's cop instincts."

For a moment, he wondered if Hal was upset because Barry hadn't tried to look for him, but the look on Hal's face told him that wasn't the case. No, Hal was worried because Barry hadn't tried to protect himself.

Barry put a reassuring hand on Hal's shoulder. "Hey. I'm fine. Everyone's fine. Green Lantern came just in time. I'm still here. We're all still here."

Hal smiled a little. "That guy's pretty awesome."

Barry smiled. Hal was just...so adorable. God, he had to tell him. He really had to tell him. No matter how hard his heart was pounding, he really had to tell him.

"Hal, I wanna—"

Hal put his hands on Barry's shoulders, looking at him with a concerned gaze. "This whole thing really rattled you, didn't it? You look like you've seen a ghost. Your hands are shaking." His expression shifted into a grin. "I have an idea. Come with me. I want to show you something incredible."

Shit. Don't do this, Hal. Not when Barry had worked up the courage to say something, yet again. "Hal, we can go anywhere, I just—"

Hal placed a finger on his lips to silence him. He was still grinning at him. Barry knew he meant well and was probably assuming that Barry was having some serious anxiety and wanted to calm him down. He appreciated the sentiment, but he wished Hal would just _listen_.

But now, he was really curious about this thing Hal wanted to show him. Was it something to do with him being GL? Or was it something else?

Finally, he gave Hal a nod. "Okay. Lead the way." You win this round, Hal.

Hal led him back to a main street, where he hailed a taxi for them. He hadn't told Barry where they were going, so Barry only found out when Hal told the taxi driver where to go.

"Take us to Ferris Air."

….What? Ferris Air? Why?

The driver nodded and headed off. Barry looked at Hal, puzzled, as they sat in the backseat.

"Why are we going to Ferris?"

"You'll see when we get there," Hal said with a grin.

Barry was confused. "Hal…"

"Just trust me."

Barry bit his lip. Trust him. Well, he did trust him. With his life, in fact.

Alright…

* * *

They arrived at Ferris at near sunset. Hal paid the cab fare and led Barry to the gate of the facility, where a security guard was stationed.

"Jordan, what are you doing here this hour?" The guard asked. "Place is closed."

"Just coming here to check on something," Hal said casually. It was clearly a lie. What was he playing at?

The guard narrowed his eyes. "Who's your friend?"

Hal pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and held it up. "Don't worry, he's with me."

Barry felt like he should say something, but he didn't, deciding to trust Hal. He watched the guard look between him, Hal, and the twenty dollar bill while he thought this over. After a few tense seconds, the guard took the twenty and opened the gate.

"I haven't seen you, and you haven't seen me, Jordan."

Hal patted the guard's shoulder as he and Barry moved past the gate. "Thanks, pal."

The gate was closed behind them again, and Hal led Barry through a path that went to one of many aircraft hangars.

Once the guard was out of earshot, Barry turned to Hal. "You do remember that I'm a cop, right?"

Hal laughed. "Are you sure you wanna turn back?"

Barry didn't say anything.

"Look, don't worry about it. It's harmless. Used to do this with my dad all the time."

That comment caught Barry's attention. "Your dad?"

Hal nodded proudly, smiling. "My old man was a test pilot, just like I am now. Best of the best. I used to sneak out of school and watch him fly all the time." His face fell. "I was still just a kid when, one day, his plane went down, taking him with it. Saw the whole thing."

Barry frowned. Hal, in spite of seeing his dad's death in a plane crash, decided to follow in his footsteps. Suddenly, Hal's "no fear" philosophy made a lot of sense, and he was beginning to feel like he really understood Hal as a person.

"He must have been very brave," Barry said. He tried to avoid the usual platitudes people told him when it came to his dead mother. People always said they were sorry, or that she was in a better place, or things like that. He guessed that Hal was tired of hearing things like that too.

"He was," Hal said.

They arrived at an aircraft hangar and Hal input a code on a panel to open the door. The door rose up and inside was a small but sleek looking fighter jet. The setting sun reflected off of it as if it were begging for attention.

Barry's eyes widened. "Hal, is this—"

"The same plane I sent you a picture of? Yes, it is. Like I said earlier, it's not the strongest engine, but it's the smoothest ride. Since you've never done this before, it's what you'll likely be most comfortable in."

Barry could hardly believe what was happening. "Are you suggesting I'm flying in that thing?" That was probably against about a thousand regulations. If Barry's bosses knew he was here doing this, he was likely a dead man. Hal was risking his entire career doing something like this.

Hal opened up a cabinet inside the hangar that contained flight suits and helmets. " _We_ are flying in that thing. I told you before, Bar. There's nothing like being in the sky. It separates you from everything you think you have to worry about and reminds you of what's really important. Your only friends up there are the plane, the wind, and me."

"I mean, sure I guess, but you act like I haven't been in a plane before."

Hal tossed Barry a flight suit. "You've never flown with _me._ "

Barry caught the suit, looking between it and Hal for a moment. This was something that could get them both in a whole lot of trouble if anyone found out about it. But then he noticed the bright orange sky, illuminated by the sunset. It almost seemed to be calling out to him. To them.

He began putting on the flight suit. Hal was doing the same. Once that was done, Hal put on a helmet and gave one to Barry, too. Hal instructed him to adjust it to the appropriate size, because a proper fitting helmet was essential. For a guy who didn't seem to care about the rules, he was sure doing his best to make sure Barry was properly suited.

They got on the plane, Barry sitting behind Hal. Sure, Barry had been a plane before, but only commercial planes. This was entirely different. It was a lot smaller, more intimate. His life was truly in Hal's hands for the second time that day. It was a little intimidating, but his trust in Hal overshadowed everything else.

Hal made sure he was strapped in properly before strapping himself in, then he began to hit a bunch of buttons and adjust a bunch of knobs to get the plane started. It was a pretty complex system, one that took a particularly dedicated person to study. Hal may not seem like that type of person to most people he knew, but he certainly was that person. The plane slowly rolled forward out of the hangar. Barry's body was tense. What exactly was Hal going to do in the sky? Just a simple little joyride?

Hal looked back at him with a grin before turning his attention back to the controls. He didn't say anything as he pushed the plane off the ground and in the sky. Barry's heart began to pound as they climbed higher and higher, reminding him of a rollercoaster, only he somehow liked this a whole lot more.

Hal jerked the control wheel and the plane suddenly veered left, shooting through the sky at a high speed. The movement caused a rush of adrenaline to flood Barry's system and all at once, he wasn't afraid anymore. The fear was gone, and now he couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Hal didn't stay straight for long, pulling the wheel back to bring the plane flying upside down at the same speed they'd been going at. After that, the plane spun around in a couple of loops.

The excitement welled up in Barry so much that he felt something within him...let go. He felt free, more free than he'd ever felt. Day after day, he felt so many ties. Ties to this or that, reasons why he needed to keep it together for the sake of everyone else. Often, he was stretched thin, especially from his day job and his _other_ job, and he never had time to think about what it was he wanted out of life or out of the world. It was never about what he wanted, it was always about helping others. He never had a chance to let go and just...be.

He heard himself cheering loudly, surprised that the sound had come from his own mouth but he didn't care. This whole thing was just so incredible, so amazing, and he had the biggest smile on his face as he watched the sky past Hal's head. The sun, the clouds, the ground all seemed to loop around them. Nothing could contain them. They were free. They were together.

Hal briefly looked back long enough to see the big smile on Barry's face before turning back to continue steering the plane. He pulled the wheel back, increasing their altitude. Once they were high enough, he flipped the plane upside down again. Barry looked up, able to see the entire Ferris Air facility and some of the surrounding areas through the window. They looked so incredibly far away. The facility, along with the rest of Central City, didn't mean anything to them up here. There were no obligations, no worries. Just each other and the sky.

It was one of the most incredible experiences Barry ever had in his life.

They continued like that for a little while. Barry had no idea how long they'd been up there because time seemed to have no meaning when you were several feet off the ground. He was too excited to care anyway. The whole experience was exhilarating and he couldn't believe Hal had taken him up there like this. He almost felt like a changed person just from being up there with him like that.

Eventually, Hal landed the plane on the runway, slowly steering it into the hangar. The moment they stopped, Barry pulled his helmet off and sat there. He hadn't realized it until then, but he was out of breath. He didn't care though, because every single part of him felt _alive_.

Hal took off his helmet, too, and unstrapped himself from his seat. Once he was free, he turned and unstrapped Barry, grinning at him again. Taking Barry's hand, he carefully led him out of the plane and back onto the ground.

Barry was still trying to catch his breath. His heart was pounding so loudly he could hear it in his ears. All he could think about was how incredible that experience was, and how incredible Hal was, and it was all just so much. So overwhelming in the absolute best possible way.

Barry had his back to the plane and Hal stood in front of him. They looked at each other, and Hal's eyes just looked so expressive. So warm, gentle yet so intense, and so inviting. Barry couldn't look away.

Hal placed a hand on the plane next to Barry's head, moving closer. Barry wanted to speak, but his words caught in his throat. There was so much he wanted to say and not enough words in the English language to properly communicate it all. Maybe that was a sign that he didn't need any words at all. Maybe Hal didn't either.

He felt it coming. Every part of him knew what was about to happen, and he wanted it more than anything. Hal placed his free hand under Barry's chin and just the touch of his fingertips on his skin made Barry shiver because of all the adrenaline pumping through him right now. He didn't move or resist. He didn't look away. He couldn't.

Hal's lips pressed against his own and Barry felt his heart soar. The pilot didn't hold back in the way he kissed him; every movement of his mouth was in pure passion. It was as exhilarating as being in the air with him, if not more. Barry responded to him, kissing him back with every little emotion he'd been holding back since he'd first laid eyes on him at the Mexican restaurant. This was it. This was how he felt about Hal, and he was admitting it to both Hal and himself at the same time.

They kissed for several minutes. Barry's head was spinning but he didn't want the moment to end. He wanted to slow down time and keep living this moment on and on and on.

And that was when he remembered. Hal. Green Lantern. The Flash. The dream, and everything he was afraid of. The truth had to come out. He couldn't do this and lie to Hal at the same time. He owed it to him to tell him the truth. No fear.

Their lips parted, but Hal was still so close. Hal's fingers were still on his chin and the pilot gazed at him, his expression soft. Barry reached for the zipper of Hal's flight suit, toying with it.

"Hal...I need to tell you something."

Hal's voice came out in a husky whisper that made Barry's insides do backflips. "Can it wait until we get back to my place?"

Oh, god. What was he about to say again? He couldn't think straight anymore. Head still spinning….

He nodded and whispered his answer. "Y-yeah…"

Hal took his hand off Barry's chin and reached for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Then let's go."

* * *

Maybe going back to Hal's place was the best idea. It would give them a secure environment so, well, Barry could finally tell Hal everything. While he knew that definitely wasn't the reason Hal was inviting him over, he knew he had to take advantage of the opportunity. Hal had to know the truth about everything before this went any farther. He refused to deceive Hal just because he might be afraid. Hal deserved to know.

He trusted Hal, didn't he? Definitely. Trust wasn't the issue. At least, it wasn't the issue anymore. The issue was that he was afraid Hal would look at him differently and decide it wouldn't work. Then again, that was part of trusting Hal, wasn't it?

Either way, he was telling him. And heaven so help Hal if he tried to interrupt him again, because it was now or never, and Barry refused to be deflected again.

Hal let Barry into his apartment, following him in and shutting the door behind him. The first thing Barry noticed was that Hal had tidied up. At some point since he'd helped Hal home from the bar, Hal had cleaned up most of the mess that had been in the apartment before. Huh. That was interesting. It wasn't spotless, but it looked worlds better. Consider Barry impressed.

Hal took his shoes off at the door and Barry did the same. He had no idea how long he'd be here, but hopefully it was for awhile. There was no way to tell how this would go, but all he could do was tell Hal the truth and hope for the best.

Barry reached for Hal's hand, wrapping it within both of his own. Hal looked at him, that heat from earlier still in his eyes. It was clear what he wanted, but it would have to wait.

"I know why you brought me here," Barry said. "But I really need to talk to you."

Hal looked at him with a puzzled glance, but nodded. "Yeah, Bar. I'm all ears."

Barry offered him a small smile and lead him over to a small couch, where they both sat. Truthfully, Barry was nervous, but he ignored it as much as he could. No fear, right?

"I, uh. There's no easy way to say this, but you deserve to know."

Hal rose an eyebrow. "Did you start seeing someone else or something?"

Oh, god. Barry wanted to crawl under the coffee table. Never in a million years would he deceive Hal on something like that. He shook his head quickly, feeling embarrassed. "No, no, no. Good lord, no. Just listen to me for a minute, okay? It's really important."

Hal's brows furrowed, but he didn't take his eyes off Barry. "Okay, but you're really freaking me out right now."

Barry took in a deep breath. He had to stop beating around the bush. "Hal, I know you're the Green Lantern."

The lantern's brown eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Barry placed two fingers on his lips.

"Wait," the blond said. "Let me finish. Look, your disguise isn't great. That being said, it probably works on most people because most wouldn't expect the guy they know to be the same one that saved them. But the reason it's different for me is because I'm sorta in your shoes. What I mean is, I'm the Flash."

Hal looked like he might fall off the couch. "Are you shitting me?"

There was a whirlwind with some sparks and Barry vanished. Before Hal could even process that he was gone, he was right back in his seat, holding a bottle of water from Hal's fridge, offering it to him with a small smile. "It's good to have some water if you're in shock."

Hal's shocked expression turned into a very wide grin as he took the bottled water. "Holy shit! That's the coolest thing ever!"

Barry felt himself smiling. With that excited response, a massive weight was lifted from Barry's chest. He could hardly believe it. He'd spent days and days being afraid to tell him, but Hal was so excited to find out. What had he been so worried about?

Not to mention, his excited reaction was really, really adorable.

He couldn't help but laugh a little. "You have what is probably the most powerful weapon in the world— in the universe— and you think my speed is the coolest thing ever?"

"It's not that. Bar, it's cool because it's _you._ "

Barry felt his cheeks warm. "Oh."

Hal was still smiling as he placed the bottled water aside in favor of taking both of Barry's hands. "I can't believe this. A glitch put Flash and Green Lantern together. How long have you known?"

"Since the first time I saw you as Green Lantern, when you helped me stop Captain Cold."

"Get out," Hal said, laughing. "You've known this whole time? Why didn't you say anything?"

Barry averted his gaze. He felt sort of silly about it now, but the way that Hal's thumbs rubbed circles onto his hands was, admittedly, calming him. "I didn't know how you'd react."

"Barry, don't you get it? You're the Flash. There's no other person I could trust more with my identity."

Well, that was probably a good point. Barry looked back at him again shyly. "So...this doesn't change anything?"

"If you're asking me if I still want to kiss you and all that, I do. But it does change things, just not in the way you think. What I mean is, this just got a whole lot more awesome."

If Barry didn't know any better, he'd wonder if Hal was taking all of this seriously. He didn't have to wonder that though, because he'd seen Hal in action enough to know that he did take his Green Lantern duties very seriously. Even when Hal was acting casual and reckless, he still had a strong sense of duty just like Barry had. Barry's demeanor wasn't quite the same, but these days he tried to enjoy being the Flash more. Maybe having Hal around would help him with that, especially since Hal knew the truth.

He had to admit, it would be really nice having something of a partner out there, both in the field and in his personal life. He knew that Hal had a whole space sector to protect, but his home was here in Central City now. Hal would always come back home. That was all Barry could ask for.

"You know, you're right," Barry said. "This _did_ just get more awesome."

"Glad you agree," Hal said. He reached over, placing his hand over Barry's. His voice grew softer and quieter. "Look, I'm only just beginning to get to know you. There's a lot of things I don't understand yet. But what I do know is that you have a good heart, better than most people. I understand now why you were trying to help people in the stadium. It's not just cop instincts, Barry. It's more than that."

Barry wasn't so sure he agreed, but the way Hal said it sure as hell made him want to believe it was true. Even before Barry became Flash, he was going out of his way to help people, even going as far as answering calls in far away cities, fresh out of the police academy. Barry figured it just came with the cop territory, and yet Hal sounded so sure of himself that Barry had something special in his character that separated him from other officers.

"When I look at you...I don't know. I just see something I've never seen in anyone else before," Hal said quietly. "I saw it in the Mexican restaurant, and I've been thinking about it ever since."

Barry's heart was pounding. He never pegged Hal as the sentimental type. One thing was for sure, Hal kept finding new ways to surprise him at every turn. He had a feeling that would continue remaining true the longer he stayed with him.

Truthfully, Barry found the idea exciting.

He was sure he was blushing, but at this point, he didn't care. Although, it did make it harder to make eye contact with him. "I...I felt something back then, too," he whispered, intertwining his fingers with Hal's. "I didn't know what it was."

"But you know now."

Barry nodded. Hal moved closer, and Barry felt the anticipation well up in him again.

"I do too," the pilot said softly, leaning in to kiss him.

Barry accepted and returned his kiss eagerly. His arms found their way around Hal's middle, feeling a need to have him even closer. Hal's scent, which he was becoming familiar with, wrapped around his senses. They surrounded each other completely and Barry was beginning to feel like just being around Hal was an intense spiritual experience.

One of Hal's arms was wrapped around him, pulling Barry against his chest as their lips continued to mingle. The pilot's other hand caressed Barry's cheek, slowly moving upward until his tanned fingers were carding through soft, bright blond hair.

The world washed away for the second time that day. Hal had come into his life and pushed away everything that had made his hands shake. He'd walked into Barry's heart, sternly proclaiming that it was his and his alone, and anything that was hurting Barry wasn't welcome anymore. He'd cleaned house. Barry had never felt so refreshed as a person. He'd never felt so spiritually renewed.

He was falling, falling backwards onto the couch. He hardly paid any mind as his back hit the soft couch cushions. Hal fell with him, keeping Barry enveloped in his arms. They continued to kiss, each feeling more and more impossibly drawn to each other. The more they had, the more they wanted. The need became insatiable.

The room was getting dark. The sun had finally set since their little joyride at Ferris Air. When they'd arrived at the apartment, there was still some sunlight coming in and neither had turned on any lights. Now, it was getting difficult to see Hal's face as it was halfway obstructed by shadow.

Barry broke the kiss for a moment, but kept Hal close. "Hal...turn the lights on."

Hal reached over him for a lamp sitting on an end table beside the couch, switching it on. "Yeah. I wanna see you."

Yeah, that was better. Barry didn't want to do this in the dark. Hal was so incredibly handsome and Barry couldn't get enough of the loving expression in his eyes. Somehow, looking at him like that made him want to bear his heart in its entirety to him.

"People I love tend to get hurt, but I couldn't stay away from you."

Hal caressed his cheek again. "Don't worry. You won't have to. Not ever."

Barry believed him.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's checked out this fic. It means a lot! I'm sad this story is over, but I'm really proud of how it turned out. I hope you enjoyed the final chapter!

If you're interested in following me, you can find me at tumblr: msgrayson or twitter: halhighball if you're up for a chat!


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